In this short film, German artist Anselm Kiefer discusses the process and inspiration behind his series of new paintings 'Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom', which depict Chairman Mao amidst an epic landscape. Kiefer outlines how his initial interest in Mao as an ambiguous historical figure began when he was a student in the 1960s and how these paintings resonate with the pictures of Nazi Germany that he made early on in his career. Discussing how the paintings developed out of a trip to the Auvergne region of France, when the mountains were ablaze with Spring flowers, he connects themes as disparate as the cosmos, power and politics in this studio-based interview.
Filmed in Paris, March 2012
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
16 May – 25 August 2012
Hong Kong
Duration: 9:25
